North Melbourne Chairman James Brayshaw took time out to sit down with the club’s media manager Heath O’Loughlin to discuss some current issues facing the club.

Heath O’Loughlin: Thanks for taking the time to talk today.

James Brayshaw: My pleasure mate.

HO’L: Are you happy with the direction the club is headed on and off the field?

JB: Extremely happy mate. Off-field we are heading towards a third straight profit since the current administration took over. Given all that’s happened in that time, it is an amazing achievement. Throw in the fact that we have increased our football spend by close to 3 million dollars and have been able to build a fifteen million dollar facility, it’s a sensational job Eugene Arocca and his team have done. On-field I think the story has been really exciting. A new coach has come in to take charge of a side which has had a massive turnover of players in the past three years. It is a great achievement to be just outside the eight on percentage and I think the second half of the year will be incredibly interesting and encouraging for all North supporters. Brad Scott is very clear with the direction he wants this club to go and his leadership is strong. The players who fall into the twenty-games and under category are perhaps even more advanced than we thought they’d be and I reckon every North fan can see where we are headed and how quickly we are going to get there.

HO’L: Okay, getting into some serious off-field issues now and there has been talk about North Melbourne potentially playing games in Hobart. Where does that sit?

JB: Where it sits is that the South of Tasmania and its capital Hobart is screaming out for AFL football. Hawthorn and its partnership with Launceston has been an unqualified success and it is no surprise there is a plan to replicate that model in the south. What exactly this ‘model’ looks like we don’t know at this stage but I believe it is incredibly exciting.

HO’L: Why?

JB: Why? Because every football club needs to grow, even the biggest ones. Our football club certainly needs to grow. In membership, supporter-base, attendance, corporate partnerships, merchandise and the most important area of all, revenue. But I can appreciate and understand there are concerns, but don’t worry…we are the North Melbourne Football Club, we are based out of Arden Street and that isn’t going to change. However, the potential to explore a partnership with a city like Hobart, to expand in the areas I have mentioned and have the chance to make our business bigger, better and stronger is simply something we cannot pass up and I just think it’s really exciting.

HO’L: What about the members and supporters who will say and are already saying this is going down a familiar and unsavoury path?

JB: Like I said, I can understand their concerns because of where we have come from and our history but as far as I am concerned, I never look back. There is no point and the club’s board and management is only concerned with what is the very best for our club. I hope our members and supporters have come to realise that we have taken the club to a position it has never been in before, and without pumping up our own tyres, our recent track record should prove we only want what is best for North Melbourne as a North Melbourne based club. In saying that, let’s not get ahead of ourselves with this because we are still waiting to see what this potential deal looks like. But people forget there is a model that already exists. Hawthorn plays four games a year in Launceston and it is one of the best deals they have ever done. Nine thousand extra members and a massive increase in its supporter base, which is very hard to do achieve. The added corporate partnerships, sponsorships and merchandise sales have added millions to its bottom line which is also incredibly hard to do. It has been an unqualified success and no-one ever talks about Hawthorn moving to Launceston.

HO’L: How would this potential deal impact the members and supporters who are based in Melbourne?

JB: Our standard membership ticket would still get them into the same number of games in Melbourne but as I said we are still to see the proposal. If we get the chance, we will look to replicate the Hawthorn model and as I have indicated already, we would be irresponsible and mad not to look at it. That said, we are putting the cart before the horse because we are not exactly sure what is and isn’t on the table.

HO’L: If it were to happen when are we talking?

JB: It’s my understanding the AFL is looking at 2012 as a likely start date for this.

HO’L: Okay, moving on…What about our fixture for next year? Any chance that we might get a better look at Friday nights and have less interstate teams playing in our home games?

JB: I have spoken to Gillon McLachlan at the AFL and expressed to him we would like a bit of help in this area. Every club wants a better draw, but we don’t care about ‘every club’…we only care about North Melbourne. The Friday night game we played against Carlton was an example of what this great club is capable of when it has the chance. The build up, execution and outcome orchestrated by our staff and players was sensational and I know people inside AFL House were impressed. The bottom line though is that as we improve, so will our draw. Playing exciting and successful football will always give you access to the good time slots. We are starting to play this brand of football and I am confident that our draw will improve next year.

HO’L: Finally JB, the AFL released the overall membership figures recently and our club’s numbers have decreased while most others have increased. How do you explain this and what are you going to do about it?

JB: I find it really hard to explain Heath. I said earlier in the year, this is a really exciting time for the club. Things are flying in the right direction on and off the field. It’s a great story and why some of our people wouldn’t want to be engaged with us I genuinely don’t know and can’t explain. So what are we going to do? Well I can tell you that we will work harder than ever to grow this club and increase our supporter base. We are working on our data base, we are looking hard at our fan development structure and we are on the cusp of becoming a more entertaining and even more exciting team to watch. I am convinced that exciting, winning football will help get our membership heading towards 40,000. We spoke earlier about the potential Hobart deal and that’s why we need to consider it should we get the chance. Growth is vital for our long term sustainability and membership and supporter base has been one of the toughest areas improve. But it will happen for North Melbourne and I can assure all of our followers that there’s some really cool stuff coming our way and everyone should be really excited and optimistic.

HO’L: JB thanks for your time.

JB: Anytime, thank you.